Process of preheating and moistening compressed air, &amp;c.



No. sasss.

Patanted Aug. 27, I90l. W. 0. WEBBEB. PROCESS OFPREHEATING ANDnolsTENlNs cmliPBEssEn AIR, &c.

(Application Bled Nov. 20, 1900.)

(No Modal.)

F'IG. 3.

///vn////// /////////////V//////// l f// NVENTOR. 7am- @Wr/Mw- WTNESSES:

m: nofws Pneus co., vuorourna, wAsmuomw. n. c.

ther moisture.

FVILLIAM O. VVEBBER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO WALTER C.

CARR, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PROCESS OF PREHEATING AND MOISTENING COMPRESSED AIR, &c.

SPECIFECATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 681,358, dated August27, 1901.

Application lcd November 20, 1900. Serial No. 37,172. (N0 Specimens.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern.-

Beit known that I, WILLIAM OLIvER WEB- BER, of the city of Boston,county of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Processes of Preheating and MoisteningCompressed Air and other Fixed Gases; and I hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

This .process relates to the treatment of compressed air with heat andmoisture to increase the elasticity thereof and to effect this increasein the passage of the air from a comf presser to a motor.` A singleapplication of heat and moisture would cause the absorp,l tion by theair of a portion of its capacity for moisture, but not its maximumcapacity, as to effect the latter result wouldy require an extendedtreatment which could not be obtained in this passage of the air from acompressor to a motor. In order to impart a maximum degree of moistureto the air in the minimum of time, it'becomes necessary to restore `theair to its previouslysheated condition as soon as the temperaturethereof has been reduced by the application of moisture, and this resultcan only be eected by the progressive and successive moistening andheating action without permitting free expansion of the air or amaterial reduction in its temperature. As is well known, heated airunder compression Areadily absorbs moisture and when thus moistened mustbe further heated to restore the same to a proper condition to receivethe application of fur- If moisture be applied to heated air within asingle chamber, the temperature of the air will be reduced, due to apartial evaporation of the moisture, and the further absorption ofmoisture prevented; but by reason of the successive steps thisdifficulty is avoided and the air is retained in proper condition toreceive the maximum degree of moisture during a minimum period of time.

The accompanying drawings show one form of apparatus for carrying myprocess into effect, in which- Figure l is a vertical cross-section online of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a horizontal crosssection on line y y' of Fig.1, and Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section on line ,e e' of Fig. 1looking toward the left-hand end of Fig. l.

A is any suitable furnace; B, a combustion-chamber. Situated abovesaidfurnace, at the upper end of the combustion-chamber B, is a passage b,through which the heat and products of combustion from the furnace Apass to a heating-chamber O, which is provided with deflector plates c cc2 c3 c4, 6o alternately rising from the bottom and depending from thetop of the chamber C and having air passages b h2 b3 b4 b5,respectively, above and below the upper and lower endsv thereof. Belowthis heat-chamber O are a series of air-chambers D Dl D2 D3. These airchambers are operatively connected by inverted-U-shaped pipes d d d2,rising in groups of four and projecting upwardly into theheating-chamber C between 7o the alternately-arranged deflector-plates cc c2 c3 c4. Air-inlet pipe E admits cold air to the chamber D, and anoutlet-pipe E allows the escape of the heated air from the chamber D3. Awater-supply pipe F is operatively 7.5v connected to any suitable supplyof water lunder pressure. One branch f of this supply-pipe is introducedup through the bottom of the air-chamber D, where it terminates in fourspray-nozzles g, vertically pro- 8o jecting into the vertical axes ofthe U-shaped pipes d and immediately beneath the inletopenings of thesepipes. A second branch f of this water-supply pipe enters thecombustion-chamber B, makes one complete con- 8 5 volution near theupperpart thereof, and is then operatively connected to spray-nozzles gin the air-chamber D' in a similar manner and situation to those alreadydescribed in chamber D. A third branch f2 of the water- 9o supplylikewise enters the combustion-chamber B, makes two complete turns orconvolutions around the combustion-chamber B at a point nearer to thefurnace A than the pipe f', and is then operatively connected to 95spray-nozzles g2 in the air-chamber D2, as previously described.

The operation of this apparatus in carrying out my process is asfollows: The hot products of combustion arising from a fire in l roo thefurnace A rise to the upper part of the combustion-chamber B and passout through the opening b to the 'heating-'chamber'Q passing down underthe delector-plate c, through the passage o', up over the plate c',through the opening b2, so on alternately down and up through thepassages b2 193 b4 b5, and finally passing out through the opening be tothe'at- 1 mosphere by means ot' a chimney or stack. Y

Air under pressure is admitted through the opening E into theair-chamber D, passes upward and downward through the inverted-U lpressed air after being thus partially meis` tened and simultaneouslyheated on entering the ascending legs of theinverted- Utubesdis further heated by passingfdownward through the descending-legsof these same tubes, `thereby 'restorin g `to the fcom pressed air anylossof heat due to the evaporation of the moisture introduced into thecompressed air inthe ascending'columns, and the further heating of`thefair `in the descending columns renders "the absorption offurthermoisturemore-rapid and complete. The compressed airthen passesupwardthroughthe ascending legsof theinverted- U tubes d', is-t'urthermoistened by the introduction of heated Water through thespraynozzlesjgsimultaneously, and furtherlheated inpassing-'through the`U-tubes d', as before. 4These U -tubes d being nearer the furnace? Aare 'in `contact with the .products of com-` bustion, therefore, Aat ahigher temperature, vand "the moisture introduced through the nozzles `gis ata higher temperature owing to its being supplied through the pipeff, 'which passes through the combustion-chamber B of the `furnace A.The compressed air then passes intofthe air-chamber VD2'andrises'through theascendin g vlegs of the inverted- U 'tubes di,receivingfurther moisture atastill higher temperature throughthespray-nozzles p2, thesenozzles `being supplied through the `pipef2,which also passeslthrough the combustion-chamber B, but with agreater inumber of 'convolutions and nearer to thefurnace A than'thepipef. The thus'moistenedand; 'compressed air isithen simultaneouslyand'fur--ther heated in passingthrough the inverted-U tubes d2, which aresituated Vnext tothe 1fur-i -nace A-and are brought in contact Withthe`r gases therefrom before they havehadan opportunity to partWith-any'of their heat, the now thoroughly moistened and heated airipassing through the air-'chamber D3 and outllet E to the motor or enginein Awhich itsex-i "pansivefenergy is to be utilized.

In this apparatus I have described a process of m'oistening and heatingcompressed air by three progressive stages only; but I do not Wish toconfine myself to this number of progressions, as it is obvious that atwo-stage progression would have a similar result in a less degree audthat more than three progressions would have a similar result in a muchgreater degree.

One pound of air Will absorb .58 of a pound of moisture When givensufficient time. It has been found by experiment that bubblingcompressed air up through a body of hot Water or passing the compressedair through a vessel containing steam orintroducing a steam` jet into acurrent of compressed air does not cause the compressed air to absorbmoisture and heat as readily and as fully as though moisture wereintroduced into the compressed air in a fine spray at practically thesame temperature as the air and simultaneously heat were appliedthereto, or, again., by fol lowing `up the Ifirst introduction ofmoisture and heat by a further introduction of moisture and asimultaneous further'application of heat lat an increased temperatureWithout permitting the free expansion of the compressed air. The -amountyof `moisture and heatwhich A'can be imparted to compressed airlbyrepeated applications progressivelyapplied i-slargely increased beyondtheamounts 'Whichlcan besupplied in a given length of ltime with onlyoneapplication of the heat and moisture attempted, because fupon vtheintroduction of `moisture to air evaporation `of the ymoisture in agreater `Jor less Adegree immediately takes place. This evaporationcauses a'lowering of the ltemperatureot the air and a partialcondensation of themoisture. It ynow additional heat Lis immediatelysupplied, revaporation takes place, and if the heating `-isfurtherandcontinuously supyplied yno further condensation canioccurandthe air Willfcarry-off 'allot the moisture which lhas been imparted Itoit'and if still 'further 'andcontinuously heated Will attract furtherIOO IIO

contributions-of'moisture. -Myprooess there- "fore involves the heatingof compressed r-air iprogressively and also the introduction of moisturein iinely-divided particles linto the compressed air at "thesame timeland -progressivelyas the heating of '.thelair is=a`ccom -plished,followed bythe introduction `of further :moisture simultaneously with afurther increase of temperature `progressively aplplied,saidsimultaneous moistening andfheating `being immediatelysuccessive-that is, `after the `iirst introduction of moistureand1v'simultaneous increase of-temperature of compressed air subsequentlyand progressively supplyin g additional greater amounts of moisture andfurther amounts of heatfatprogres'sively higher temperatures Withoutpermitting the free expansion-of the compressed air or a reduction inthe temperature thereof.

I am Well aware-that the preheating of compressed air before using'it inmotors has been in usebefore for some time; also,that the moisesnsstening of compressed air previous toits being used is old; but

What I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis as follows:

l. The process of moistening and heating compressed air or other Iixedgas consisting of the introduction thereinto of moisture andsimultaneously increasing the temperature thereof,fo11owed by thefurther introduction of moisture and a simultaneous increase oftemperature of the compressed air or other fixed gas, without permittingfree expansion of the compressed air or other fixed gas or a reductionof the temperature thereof, substantially as described.

2. The process of moistening and heating compressed air or other iixedgases,consisting in the introduction of moisture thereinto andsimultaneouslyincreasing the temperature of the compressed air or otherxed gas, followed by the progressive introduction of further heatedmoisture simultaneous with a progressive increasing temperature of thecompressed air or other fixed gas, said simultaneous moistening andheating being immediately successive, substantially as described.

3. The process of moistening and heating compressed air or other fixedgases, consisting in the introduction of moisture thereinto,

and simultaneously increasing the temperature of said compressed air orother fixed gas, followed by the progressive introduction of furthermoisture at increasing temperatures, simultaneous with a progressiveproportional increase of temperature of the compressedl air or otherfixed gas, without permitting free expansion of the compressed air orother ixed gas or a reduction of the temperature thereof, substantiallyas described.

4. The process of moistening and heating compressed air or other fixedgas consisting in the introduction of moisture thereinto andsimultaneouslyincreasing the temperature of said compressed air or otherfixed gas, followed by the introduction of further moisturesimultaneously with an increase of temperature of the compressed air orother xed gas, said simultaneous moistening and heating beingimmediately successive and carried on progressively and by progressivestages,

lsubstantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM O. VEBBER.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM ODLIN, J. W. CARROLL.

